Today’s blog will discuss some of the benefits that come with using game translation services. This is where gaming businesses collaborate with translation companies to localise their game to markets that may speak another language to that of its origin.
According to Statista, one of the most popular gaming platforms ‘Steam’ sees the following in the distribution of languages spoken:
As you can see, English is the predominant language with a 38% share of users. However, Chinese, Russian and Spanish aren’t far behind. The variety of languages shown here is evidence of gaming markets that are still untouched due to your unlocalised games!
1. Bring something new, culturally different and exciting to foreign markets (i.e., Pokémon)
When you take your game international, you’re not only bringing something new to these foreign gaming communities, but you’re also bringing a taste of your culture. Foreign culture is often an exciting feat, especially in open-world games where people can explore somewhere through the screen. Gaining accessibility through understanding the content allows those new customers to experience something they may not have before.
A brilliant example of how this has been a success in the past is the Japanese triumph of Pokémon. This game bought a taste of Japanese culture to the entire world by keeping its core themes and values the same, but localising where necessary. It is now one of the highest-grossing franchises around, worth $92 billion… You do the maths!
2. Better App Store ranking
App store ranking factors have shown keywords are crucial in ranking highly! In foreign markets, you are going to benefit massively if your keywords are localised to the area in which that app store is generating its rankings.
The reviews and ratings are also a huge factor. The more markets you can reach with localisation, the more customers you have to leave you a sparkling review. This is going to boost you up in the charts, gaining more exposure and increased opportunity in the gaming world.
3. Avoid offending countries/cultures you intend on marketing too
Having an accomplished translation service at your disposal when localising your game ensures professionalism when crossing international borders. There are thousands of examples of misinterpretations that severely offend countries and cultures you intend on initiating business with, but also ruin any credibility you may have previously built up for your company.
A great example of a company that faced terrible backlash for a poor translation within an international marketing campaign is none other than soft drink giant Pepsi. In the 60s their slogan was ‘Come alive, with the Pepsi generation!’ They attempted to penetrate the Chinese market with this same slogan. It translated to ‘Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave!’ This was terrible for so many reasons, the main one being China has long-standing cultural values with ancestry. This was potentially the worst market to make this kind of mistake in and cost Pepsi a lot of money!
Don’t put yourself in the same embarrassing position and be sure to hire the professionals!
4. Make players feel valued and a part of the community in different parts of the world
A community atmosphere is known to have many positive connotations with business. Such benefits may include the reduction of marketing costs through word of mouth, increased credibility amongst creators and influencers, and much higher retention rates with consumers. This is specifically true for gaming, where those buying and playing the game will be experiencing the product with one another, online and offline.
When a game is localised, it brings players who speak another language and their culture into the community. They feel as if the game has specifically been made for them, increasing their value for the product. This in turn will increase the connection between developers and users, in turn boosting customer loyalty.
Developers, Rockstar, have benefitted from exactly this whilst localising their game Grand Theft Auto 5 to the many regions across the world. The game was released in 2011 and has since been released in over ten different languages. A decade on from the release, and GTA still generates Rockstar $2.5 million a day. This is a clear indicator of how loyal these gamers are to Rockstar and we believe the localisation of it is a great factor in this.
Conclusion
That concludes the 5 benefits of using video game translation services that you can take on board when considering whether this is a viable business venture for your game. Hopefully, this will give you the confidence needed for you to take the next steps toward getting a high-quality gaming translation for your business.
If you liked the content provided by Global Translations UK, feel free to visit our website for more information on the gaming translation services (HERE). Our team is available 24/7, so get in touch!
